A look at the X-59’s engine nozzle, where the thrust -the force that moves the aircraft- will exit. Once complete, the X-59 is designed to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom. The Quesst mission could help change the rules for commercial supersonic air travel over land.

NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidates toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California where Jenni Sidey-Gibbons looks inside engine nozzle of F-15 jet. The F-15 will fly in tandem with the X-59 QueSST during early flight test stages for the X-59 development.

A quality inspector inspects the GE F-414 engine nozzle after installation at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California (L to R) Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, Raja Chari, Loral O'Hara, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jonny Kim and Jessica Watkins look inside the engine nozzle of an F-15 jet. The F-15 will fly in tandem with the X-59 QueSST during early flight test stages for the X-59 development.

NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California where (L to R) Loral O'Hara, Jenni Sidey-Gibbons and Raja Chari look inside the engine nozzle of an F-15 jet. The F-15 will fly in tandem with the X-59 QueSST during early flight test stages for the X-59 development.

NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California (L to R) Raja Chari, Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, Loral O'Hara, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jonny Kim and Jessica Watkins look inside the engine nozzle of an F-15 jet. The F-15 will fly in tandem with the X-59 QueSST during early flight test stages for the X-59 development.

NASA's 2017 astronaut candidates toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California where Crew Chief Tom Grindle talks with (L to R) Jessica Watkins and Raja Chari near engine nozzle of F-15 jet. The F-15 will fly in tandem with the X-59 QueSST during early flight test stages for the X-59 development.

This shot offers a bird's eye-view of a Fastrac II engine duration test at Marshall's Test Stand 116. The Fastrac II engine was designed as a part of the low cost X-34 Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The purpose for these tests was to test the different types of metal alloys in the nozzle. Beside the engine were six additional nozzels which spray a continuous stream of water onto the test stand to reduce damage to the test stand and the engines. The X-34 program was cancelled in 2001.

This double exposure depicts Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Test Stand 116 hosting a 60K Bantam Fastrac thrust chamber assembly test. The lower right exposure shows the engine firing in the test stand while the center exposure reveals workers monitoring the test in the interior block house of the test facility. The thrust chamber assembly is only part of the Fastrac engine project to build a low-cost engine for the X-34, an alternate light-weight unmarned launch vehicle. Both the nozzle and the engine for Fastrac are being manufactured at MSFC.

In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Facility, the STS-93 crew poses in the nozzle of Space Shuttle Columbia's main engine. From left, they are Mission Specialist Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Commander Eileen Collins, Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley. STS-93, scheduled to launch July 9 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, has the primary mission of the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Formerly called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, Chandra comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the science instrument module (SIM), and the world's most powerful X-ray telescope. Chandra will allow scientists from around the world to see previously invisible black holes and high-temperature gas clouds, giving the observatory the potential to rewrite the books on the structure and evolution of our universe

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –This NASA Railroad engine is hauling one of the cars with an Ares I-X segment to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. The segments will be delivered to Kennedy's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

The first of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus® booster rocket recently underwent combined systems testing while mounted to NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The combined systems test was one of the last major milestones in the Hyper-X research program before the first X-43A flight. One of the major goals of the Hyper-X program is flight validation of airframe-integrated, air-breathing propulsion system, which so far have only been tested in ground facilities, such as wind tunnels. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine capable of operating at hypersonic speeds above Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound). The X-43A design uses the underbody of the aircraft to form critical elements of the engine. The forebody shape helps compress the intake airflow, while the aft section acts as a nozzle to direct thrust. The 12-foot, unpiloted research vehicle was developed and built by MicroCraft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn., under NASA contract. The booster, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., will accelerate the X-43A after the X-43A/booster "stack" is air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership. The X-43A will separate from the rocket at a predetermined altitude and speed and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it descends into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10.

The second of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft, shown here in its protective shipping jig, arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on January 31, 2001. The arrival of the second X-43A from its manufacturer, MicroCraft, Inc., of Tullahoma, Tenn., followed by only a few days the mating of the first X-43A and its specially-designed adapter to the first stage of a modified Pegasus® booster rocket. The booster, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., will accelerate the 12-foot-long, unpiloted research aircraft to a predetermined altitude and speed after the X-43A/booster "stack" is air-launched from NASA's venerable NB-52 mothership. The X-43A will then separate from the rocket and fly a pre-programmed trajectory, conducting aerodynamic and propulsion experiments until it impacts into the Pacific Ocean. Three research flights are planned, two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10 (seven and 10 times the speed of sound respectively) with the first tentatively scheduled for early summer, 2001. The X-43A is powered by a revolutionary supersonic-combustion ramjet ("scramjet") engine, and will use the underbody of the aircraft to form critical elements of the engine. The forebody shape helps compress the intake airflow, while the aft section acts as a nozzle to direct thrust. The X-43A flights will be the first actual flight tests of an aircraft powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine.

NASA’s X-59 sits in support framing while undergoing the installation of its lower empennage, or tail section, at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California in late March.

The tail of NASA’s X-59 aircraft is shown here in late March at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California where the plane recently underwent a final install of the lower empennage or better known as tail section of the plane.

A quality inspector checks NASA’s X-59 aircraft during the construction phase. The X-59 was built in Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.